《全新版大学英语第2版综合教程》Unit 1 Text B 课文及译文

全新版大学英语综合教程第四册Unit1TextBWouldnaturebeonthesideoftheAlliedforcesastheypreparedtoinvademainlandEuropeorwoulditfavourtheGermans?Noonewascertain.大自然会站在秣马厉兵准备进攻欧洲大陆的同盟国一方，还是会偏袒德国人？谁也说不准。TheNormandyLandings诺曼底登陆1.ThelargestandmostambitiousmilitaryexpeditioninhistorywastheinvasionofNormandyinnorthernFrancebyBritish,AmericanandCanadianforcesthattookplaceinthesummerof1944.Evennatureplayedarole.2.Ittookmorethanayearformilitaryplannerstoorchestrateeverymovementoftroops,artillery,shipsandaircraftandtoseteverythinginplaceforthemovethatwastoopenupasecondfrontinEurope.ThiswouldliberateFranceandwayforthefinalassaultonGermanyitself.历史上最大最具野心的军事远征是1944年夏天英国、美国和加拿大军队在法国北部发动的诺曼底入侵。甚至自然也发挥了作用。军事侵略家精心安排军队、大炮、船舰和飞机的每一步运作，将进军的一切准备就绪去打开在欧洲的第二战线，这种准备花了一年多的时间。这将解放法国并且为对德国的最后攻击开路。3.Everythingwascontrolled;rightdowntotheplacementofmilitarydecoysacrosstheEnglishChanneltofooltheGermansintothinkingtheattackwouldcomefromBritain'sclosestpointtoFranceatPasdeCalaisratherthaninNormandyasplanned.4.Everythingwascontrolled,thatis,excepttheweather.一切尽在掌控之中。军事诱饵的布置也准备好横穿英吉利海峡以欺骗德国人，使他们误以为攻击会从英国距法国最近的那个位置即加莱海峡而不是按照计划在诺曼底登陆。除了天气，一切尽在掌握之中。5.D-day,thecodenamegiventothedayofinvasion,wasoriginallyscheduledfor5June1944.Thisdatehadbeenarrivedatbyconsideringtwofactors--moonlightandtide.Thehouroftheinvasionwouldneedtobenearsunrise,whentheseabornetroopswouldhavearisingtide.Thiswouldenablethemtolandclosetotheobstaclesthathadbeenplacedtohindertheirlandingwithoutcomingashoreontopofthem.Theparatroopersneededafullmoonforvisibility.Thedayswiththepropertide-moonlightformulaclosesttothetargetdatewere5,6and7June.(1)ThefifthwaschosenforD-Daytoallowasafetymarginincasetheattackneededtobepostponed.入侵日子的代号，登陆日，最初定在1944年5月1日。这一天在月光和潮汐这两个因素的考虑中到来了。入侵的时间需要在日出左右，那时海上运输的军队将会遇到上涨的潮汐。这将使他们接近已经设置好的用来阻碍他们登陆的障碍物而不用上岸。伞兵部队需要一轮明月来提高能见度。拥有适当的潮汐、月光的方案的日子属6月6、7日最接近预定日期。第五天被选作诺曼底登陆日，万一进攻需要延期，这样可以留有安全的余裕。6.Inadditiontomoonlightandfavourabletides,calmseaswereneededforthecrossing.(2)Butanunusuallystormytransitionfromspringtowardsummerthatyearheldourlittlehopethattherewouldbeasuitablebreakintheweather.ItalsomeantthepossibilitythatOperationOverlord,astheinvasionwascalled,mighthavetobepostponeduntillaterintheyearoreventhefollowingyear.除了月光和最合适的潮汐，平静的海面对于横渡也是十分需要的。但是那年从春季到夏季的不平常的猛烈过渡表明天气上不会有一个合适的间隙，它也意味着这场被称作霸王行动的入侵有可能不得不延期到年后或下一年。7.Withthearrivalof5June,theweatherwassobadthatGeneralEisenhower,supremecommanderoftheinvasionforces,wasforcedtopostponetheinvasionbyoneday.Whenhemetwithhisstafftoreviewtheiroptions,theywerefacedwiththegrimrealitythat6JunedidnotlookmuchbetterthantheoriginalD-Day.Themeteorologicalreportgaveathinrayofhopethatalullinthestormwouldallowenoughtimetolaunchtheinvasion.Consultationswentonlateintothenightonwhethertopressahead.Opinionsweredivided.Finally,Eisenhowermadehisdecision."Iamquitepositivewemustgivetheorder,"hesaid."Idon'tlikeit,butthereitis.Idon'tseehowwecandoanythingelse."Withinhours,anarmadaof3,000landingcraft,2,500otherships,and500navalvesselsbegantoleaveEnglishports.6月5日到了，天气太糟糕了，入侵军队的最高指挥官艾森·豪威尔将军被迫延迟一天入侵。当他和他的将士回顾他们的选择时，他们面临了残酷的现实。6月6日看起来并没有比最初的登陆日好多少。气象预报表明在这场暴风雨中暂停以求得足够的时间来发动入侵几乎没什么希望。关于是否继续进行入侵的磋商持续到很晚，意见发生了分歧。最后，艾森豪威尔做出了决定。“我很确定我们必须下达命令，”他说，“我不喜欢，但是情况就是这样。我不知道我们还能怎么做。”几个小时内，由3000艘登陆艇、2500艘其他船只和500艘舰艇组成的无敌舰队开始撤出英国港口。8.Meanwhile,criticalerrorsbytheGermansideallowedthemtobetakencompletelybysurprise.Duetothebadweather,theGermannavycancelleditsusualpatroloftheEnglishChannel.Also,apracticedrillscheduledforJune6wascalledoff.TheGarmanmeteorologicalserviceswereunawareofthebreakintheweather.Ontheeveoftheattack,manyofthetopGermanleaderswereabsentfromtheircommands.Rommel,thegeneralinchargeofthecoastaldefenses,wasinGermanyvisitinghiswifeonherbirthday,andseveralofficersweresomedistanceawayinRennesorontheirwaythereforawar-gameexercise.同时，德方的关键性失误令他们大吃一惊，由于天气糟糕，德国海军取消了它在英吉利海峡的正常巡逻。并且，定于6月6日的训练取消了。德国气象局没有意识到恶劣天气的间断，在攻击的前一晚，许多德国的高级领导人擅离职守，隆美尔，负责海岸防御的将军，在德国庆祝他妻子的生日，一些官员在遥远的雷思或者在赶到那里参加战争游戏演戏的路上。9.TheassaultonNormandybeganat12:15a.m.,whenthepathfindersfortheAmericanairborneunitslefttheirplanesandparachutedtoearth.Fiveminuteslater,ontheothersideoftheinvasionarea,theBritishpathfindersmadetheirjump.Thepathfinderswerespeciallytrainedtofindandmarkthedropzones.Themainairborneassaultwastocommencewithinthehour.当美国空降部队的探路者离开他们的飞机，跳伞降落时，在诺曼底的攻击在上午12点15分开始了。5分钟后，在入侵地区的另一方，英国探路者也完成了跳伞。这些探路者经过特殊的训练去找到并标记轰击区。主要的空降袭击在几个小时内就要开始了。10.Theairborneattackbecameconfusedbecauseofstiffwindsandtheevasiveflyingofthetransportplaneswhentheyencounteredanti-aircraftfire.Asaresult,theparatrooperswerescatteredoverawideareaandmostmissedtheirdropzones,somebyasmuchas20miles.Othercomplicationswerecausedbytheterrain,andtheworstterrainwasontheCotentinPeninsula.TheGermanshadlacedtheopenfieldswithanti-personnelandgliderstakesandfloodedthelowareas.ThefloodingcausedthemosttroublefortheAmericansofthe101stand82ndAirbornedivisions,withmanyofthetroopsdrowned,ladendownbytheirheavyequipment.由于强烈的风，加上运输机遭遇防空工事炮火时所作的规避飞行，空中袭击一片混乱。结果伞兵的降落点散落在一个广阔的范围，大多数都没有命中降落点，有些偏离了达20英里远。其他的困难由地形导致，且最不利的地形是在科唐坦搬到。德军在开阔地带绑定了杀伤性的滑翔机发射台，并且这种武装充斥了低海拔地带。这种装备给美国空军101师和82师造成了最大的阻碍，许多士兵溺水身亡，在繁重装备的重压之下。11.Theairborneunitsweretosecuretheflanksoftheamphibiousassault.Thatmeantcapturingbridges,crossroadsandcoastalbatteries.Afteraccomplishingthosetasks,theparatroopershadtowithstandanyGermancounterattacks.空降兵各部队需要保证此次海陆空突袭的侧翼。这意味着占领桥梁，十字路口和沿海炮台。在完成以上任务之后，伞兵部队就需要抵抗德军的任何反攻。12.Astheairborneunitsstruggledtoachievetheirgoals,thegreatfleetmadeitswayacrossthechanneltoitsappointmentwithdestiny.Leadingthatgrandarmadaweretheminesweepers.Behindthemfollowedavastarrayofnavalvesselsofeveryconceivabletype.Neverbeforehadsuchafleetbeenassembled.Includingthelandingcraftcarriedonboard,thecombinedAlliedinvasionarmadanumberedupto6,000ships.Approximately150,000menweretocrosstheEnglishChannelandlandatassaultbeachescode-named"Utah,""Omaha,""Gold,""Juno"and"Sword."正在空军部队奋力完成任务的同时，庞大的联军舰队正穿越海峡，奔赴命运之约。巨大战船队伍由扫雷舰领航。接着是一个由你能想到的任何种类的战船所组成的巨大的海上编队。这次集合前无古人。包括甲板上被运载的登陆舰在内，联合舰队共有6000艘战船在编。大约150000名战士将穿越英吉利海峡，在指定的海滩登陆。它们的代号分别是：犹他，奥马哈，戈德，朱诺，利剑。13.ThefirstareasofFrenchsoilwrestedfromGermancontrolwereagroupofsmallislandslocatedthreemilesoffUtahBeach.Alliedcommanderswereconcernedthattheseislandscouldbeusedassitesforheavyguns.ThemenoftheU.S.4thand24thCavalrysquadronsweredesignatedtotaketheislandspriortothemaininvasion.Theassaultteamsfoundonlylandmines.TheGermanshadlefttheislandsunoccupied.游离于德国人控制之外的法国的第一块土地是一系列小岛，正好位于犹他海滩附近三英里处。联军司令官确信这些小岛将被（德国人）用作重武器的存放地。美国第4及第24机械中队被指派在总攻发起前拿下这些岛屿。突击部队发现这里只有地雷。德军并没有占领这些岛屿。14.Forthemajorityoftheassaulttroops,however,thewarhadnotbegunyet.Afterspendingaslongas48hoursaboardthevarioustransportshipsasaresultofthedelay,manyofthemenweremiserablyseasickandinpoorshapeforthechallengeahead.然而，对于此次突袭的大多数士兵来说，战斗远未开始。由于战时的延误，大多数士兵在各种战舰上生活了48小时之久，他们严重的晕船，面对即将到来的挑战状态不佳。15.Thenavalbombardmentbeganaround5:45a.m.Theairattackfollowed.Thenavalandairbombardmentsweredesignedtodestroythebeachgunsandobstacles,pindowntheenemyandprovideshelterforthegroundtroopsontheopenbeachesbymakingcraters.Both,however,largelyfailedintheirobjectives.Weatherconditionshadimproved,buttheywerenotperfect.Becauseofpoorvisibilitycausedbylowcloudcover,itwasdecidedthatthebomberswoulddelaythereleaseofbombs30secondstoavoidhittingtheassaultingtroops.Asaresult,thebombsfellinlandandmissedtheirtargets.Althoughthenavalbombardmentwasmoreaccurate,itwasnotmuchmoreeffectiveagainstthehardenedGermangunemplacements.海军轰炸在清晨5:45开始了。然后是空袭。海上和空中袭击的初衷是彻底摧毁沙滩上的兵力和障碍物，压制敌人，并通过炸出弹坑为陆军提供掩体。然而，这两个目标都没有达到。天气状况有了好转，但是并不完美。由于低垂的大雾造成的极低的能见度，炮兵部被命令延迟30秒发射，以防误伤突击士兵。结果，炸弹降落在了内陆，未击中目标。尽管，海军部队的轰炸更加精确，由于德军已加强武装，因而还是显得作用不大。16.Theweatheralsowaspartiallyresponsibleforcausingsomeoftheassaultcrafttomisstheirassignedlandingareas.Additionally,manyofthelandingcraftandamphibioustanksfounderedintheroughsea.IntheOmahaarea,mostofthecraftcarryingartilleryandtanksintendedtosupporttheincomingt